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Product Description

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Artist AT53 Vintage Green Relic Electric Guitar w/ Hand Made Pickups

The latest in our much-lauded range of TC-style guitars, the Artist AT53 pairs the best elements of vintage guitar design with modern features to bring you an instrument that straddles the line between innately familiar and excitingly new. With a classic-looking roasted maple neck finished with a comfortable satin feel, the high-grade locking tuners and rosewood fretboard (at a lightning-quick 14-inch radius), make for a guitar that belies its own old-world aesthetic. While the AT53 comes pre-battle worn, the nitrocellulose finish, a material used mainly on guitars crafted prior to the 1970s, will wear and age just as you do. 

Having tested untold amounts of pickup options, we settled on a set of high-end, hand-made single coils wound by the Laohao workshop, a small team producing boutique batches of custom pickups to a frankly unbelievable standard. Paired with 250k pots, the AT53 sounds far brighter than its relic'd finish suggests! Every detail has been pored over with this one - a bone nut, copper foil shielding, a wheeled string tree and locking strap buttons are among a host of modern features that make this old battler anything but!


The Tech Features

Body
Body Material: Paulownia
Body Finish: Vintage Green Relic
Body Paint: Nitro
Body Construction: Solid

Neck
Neck Material:
 Quarter-Sawn Roasted Maple
Neck Construction: One-Piece
Neck Joint: Bolt-On
Neck Finish: Satin
Neck Shape: 22mm C Profile
Scale Length: 650mm / 25.5"
Fretboard Material: Rosewood
Fretboard Radius: 350mm
Number of Frets: 22
Fret Material: Stainless Steel
Fret Size: Medium Jumbo
Nut Material: Bone
Nut Width: 42mm / 1.65"
Position Inlays: Abalone Fret Dots
Binding: N/A
Side Dots: Glow in the Dark 
Truss Rod: Dual Action 2-Way

Electronics
Bridge Pickup:
 Laohao Hand Made Alnico V Single-Coil Pickup
Middle Pickup: N/A
Neck Pickup: Laohao Hand Made Alnico V Single-Coil Pickup
Switching: 3-Way Switch
Configuration: SS
Special Electronics: Copper Foil Shielded Cavity

Hardware
Bridge:
 Vintage Style Bridge With Brass Saddles
Hardware Finish: Chrome​​​​​​​
Machine Heads: Premium Locking Die-Cast​​​​​​​
Pickguard: Cream

Miscellaneous/Special Features
Strings:
 Ernie Ball 10-46 Regular Slinky​​​​​​​
Weight: 2.7-3.2kg / 6-7lbs

Accessories
Included Accessories:
 Instrument Cable, Truss Rod Adjustment Key, Bridge Adjustment Key, Picks, Strap Locks​​​​​​​
Optional Hard Cases: REC300RC, REC350FTB, EC500
Optional Bags: ​​​​​​​HGBAGST, BAGST

(18090)


Reviews (9)

Write a review

AT53 - Wow. Great guitar

By: on 5 March 2025
I saw Brett Kingman playing this exact guitar on stage at the 2025 Melbourne Guitar Show. I loved the look and sound. Then once I realized it was an Artist, I went to their stand, waited for the guitar to come back after Brett was finished with it, and had a good look at it. I was super impressed at any price, let alone $449. I bought one that night. It arrived a day early. I was worried the frets would not be very level, or the neck not too flat. I was so surprised and impressed. It was perfect right out of the box. Intonation spot on, plays great, and comes with good strings. Nowhere can you get a guitar that looks, sounds and plays like this anywhere close to this price. This is more inspiring to play than my Fender MIM Tele, which is around 3x the price. Great job Artist Guitas, and the QC guy Hank, thanks for making sure my guitar was great.

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you so much for your review! Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions.

AT53 Relic with some QR problems.

By: on 13 February 2025
The AT53 guitar arrived ahead of its scheduled delivery. Leo was the QR person. The guitar was set up well, however, the pickup selector plate needed to be screwed in tighter. The base strap screw looks like it was attached with a power tool and was not flush to the body (it was indented on an angle). So I removed the screw and filled in the dent with putty and reattached the strap screw. The paulownia body is light but it is also soft. And may I suggest a hand screw driver might be a better fixing tool. The guitar looks amazing, however, the glow in the dark side fret board marks are very hard to see and I would prefer the white marks - which most other guitars use. Can you send me a set of white fret board markers?

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you for your review! Please feel free to teach out to us if you have any questions.

Great Playing guitar!

By: on 13 February 2025
Received my AT 53 early (was a pre order). Wasn't expecting it to be this good... The neck is fast and easy to get around on and the frets are rolled nicely. The pick ups sound really good and it's super light weight. The relic job is ok... a bit of a template I think... But at this price it looks great! Just buy one... lol

Artist Guitars Response
Thanks so much for sharing your feedback and review. We look forward to your next purchase.

Artist AT53 Surf Green Relic Electric Guitar w/ Ha

By: on 11 October 2024
These guitars not only look great but are great for the money. I own an American Fender 60's re-issue and this sounds exactly like that. This is not my only Artist guitar i have and i will be buying more.

Artist Guitars Response
We are glad to hear that you are happy with the item. Thank you so much for your review.

AT53 - Impressed.

By: on 6 October 2024
I ordered the AT53 Telecaster style guitar after seeing a few positive online reviews. I originally ordered the guitar on backorder owing to the popularity of this model. Artist Guitars were able to give a weekly shipping update and advise when the guitar was on it’s way. When the guitar arrived I was impressed by how well it played and the appearance in general. The relic job was done well and had an authentic look. The nitro finish is excellent and I’m a fan of the Surf Green colour. The Stainless frets are nicely finished with no fret sprout etc and the fretboard edges are slightly rolled and extremely playable. The guitar came well set-up with a low (for me) action. The locking tuners work well and I’ve had no tuning issues so far. The electronics work well and are very quiet, even with a good amount of gain. The overall fit and finish is great and I can’t help wondering how they manage to make a guitar with these features for $449 (at the time of writing) . I don’t gig these days, but would have no hesitation taking this out. These guitars punch way above their weight. My overall impression is that these guitars are great quality and well worth the asking price. I also think the bigger brands could learn a lot from these guys in terms quality, value and playability. I wish there were guitars like this around at this price point when I was starting out. Well done Artist Guitars.

Artist Guitars Response
We are glad to hear that you are happy with the item. Thank you so much for your review.

Can’t fault it

By: on 4 October 2024
I have owned 5 Artist guitars in the past and they were all good but this one is Excellent. Light weight, flexible sounds on all three positions and the wiring is superior to most guitars I have owned. Had a hand made Telecaster from the US that was maybe 10% better than this. Thought the relic in the photo looked a bit over the top but in the flesh looks perfect. Feels and looks like an old, trusted friend.

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you so much for your review. We really appreciate it.

At 53 surf green telecaster a s

By: on 4 October 2024
Absolutely stunning Finnish plays awesome sounds great

Artist Guitars Response
Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us. We look forward to your next purchase.

Telecaster Magic

By: on 16 April 2024
I pre ordered this beauty and waited 6 weeks to get it and was not dissapointed in any way. This guitar is complete. Well done artist. The nitro finish is superb and makes the body sing. As for the body.....The lightest guitar ive ever played and I used to work in the Fender Factory in the 90s so Ive had alot of guitars in my hands. The pickups truly are remarkable. The clarity and tone are first class and matched with the 50k pots and roasted maple neck with a real roswood board make this guitar.......Magic. only word to do it the justice this axe deserves. Thanks Artist. You nailed this one.

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you for your amazing review! We’re thrilled to hear that you were pleased with our product.

Wow - just wow!

By: on 28 March 2024
Ok, this turned up today. This guitar is quite simple stunning. The finish is sooo beautiful. The neck is amazing, the action is set very low (but very playable) , too low for me , but thats just how I like my guitars set up. It is every bit as good as my Fender Teles's. I just do not understand how you can make a guitars of this quality at this price. In a word or two - jaw dropping!

Artist Guitars Response
Thank you so much for your review. We really appreciate it.